Castle project leaves no stone unturned
A project launched this week is set to rock Newark Castle.
Dozens of painted stones have been hidden in the castle grounds for young visitors to find. Visitors are also being encouraged to paint and hide their own stones on specific themes.
People can follow the project through regular Facebook updates.
The Newark Castle Rocks project — developed by castle volunteers Helen Wroe and Sarah Law — aims to get children outdoors and develop their art skills while using social media to promote the castle.
“We want to encourage people to spend time with family and friends in the great outdoors, get them to find and share mini rock-art masterpieces and see how far they can travel from their start in the castle grounds,” said Helen.
The first batch of stones — including some on a remembrance theme — were hidden in the grounds on Tuesday.
When a batch of stones are hidden, the theme will be announced on the dedicated Facebook page, and people can go to the castle to start the search.
'The aim is to have fun'
People are encouraged to decorate their own rock using the theme as directed on Facebook. They should write on the back “photo, post, re-hide” and “FB Newark Castle Rocks” and, if possible, varnish the entire stone to seal it. They should take a photo and post it to the Newark Castle Rocks Facebook page so people can see the creation before re-hiding it.
Helen said: “It doesn’t matter whether the rocks are created by the castle team or the Newark Castle Rocks community, the aim is to have fun, be creative and see how far our rocks can travel.”
The castle team has created a Facebook page called Newark Castle Rocks along with a Twitter feed — @Newark CastleRox
Sarah said “The castle is the physical hub while the Facebook page is the virtual hub for our community to share their rock fun so we can see how far they travel from their home at Newark Castle.”
Newark Castle warden Floss Newman said: “We are excited about this new concept.
“We delight in watching the public enjoy the castle and grounds and this is a great addition — let us start a creative crusade.”
The Facebook page describes how people can get involved. Visit Newark Castle Rocks and go to the section description section on the right-hand side.